We just wrapped filming the Victoria's Secret Swim Special in St. Barths shot with our KX-8 heavy lift and M15 with a C300MKII and CN primes The winds were relentless and 7 out of our 10 days on island saw winds over 15 knots. We even got special permission to do a night flight for Demi Lovato's performance on the beach. Our heavy lift and M15 performed flawlessly but there was a horizon drift issue with the M15. Going with the wind the roll axis would over comepensate but going into the wind, no problem. The Paralinx tomahawk worked most of the time. Biggest complaint was with distance as anything over 250m away was lost, even with the MIMO array. All in all, very pleased with the performance of our gear and team. I'd love to share some footage but have to wait until it airs on CBS in March.
No worries. Sarcasm and tone are sometimes hard to translate via comments. It was meant to be cheeky!
The wind averaged 16-20 knots except the last TWO days we were on island and we were still able to fly and get stable footage thanks to the KX-8 and M15. Of course there is a slight amount of wobble but nothing too serious and easily removed since we filmed in UHD. My old X8 couldn't produce anything stable in anything over 12kts! Our flight times averaged 6-8 mins. depending on which lens we were flying and wind conditions. All in all very impressed with how our equipment handled the conditions. Client was as well as our paperwork states we don't fly over 15 knots except on a case by case scenario. From the weight, wind conditions and type of flying they wanted I would have said no way with our old machine but felt confident with the KX-8's ability to handle the payload and wind so we came out the hero everytime we flew in anything over 15.
Yes, I'm running U7s with 18s. The diameter is 900mm! Small and compact but I think I could get a bit more stability with 500 or 550mm booms. Flies awesome though with such a short wheelbase, especially in the breeze.
Jason- sorry just saw your question. That frame is the Kx-8 heavy lift from airborne mechatronics. You can find more info here: http://airbornecinematography.com It does fold per second but does breakdown for travel. Takes about 5 mins. to set up. Happy to answer any questions.
Also, have a peek at our trailer here: Still working on the final piece but can't release it until the show airs. Be sure to check it out March 9 9PM EST on CBS.